Singer Maynard James Keenan does not have your basic rock star’s typical biography.

Born James Herbert Keenan in Ohio, he moved to Michigan with his father and attended
both Ravenna High School and Mason County Central High School. After a hitch with
the United States Army, he enrolled at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris
State University. With his Kendall education, he initially designed interior layouts
for pet stores, first on the east coast and then in Los Angeles, where he also did
set design before forming the hugely influential band Tool. In addition to fronting
Tool, he is also lead singer for the super group A Perfect Circle, and in 2003 started
his side project Puscifier.

And if that’s not enough, he is also a stand-up comedian, actor (most recently in
the independent comedy “Queens of Country” with Lizzy Caplan and Ron Livingston) and
winemaker. As the owner of Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars, he is the subject
of the documentary film “Blood into Wine,” which chronicles the challenges he faces
of making high-quality wine in northern Arizona. (During the summer months Caduceus
Cellars’ website notes that “All orders will be held until approximately September
20th, when we anticipate the weather to have cooled enough to safely ship your wines.”)

After being on hiatus during 2008, Tool toured during the summer months the last two
years, including headlining the 2009 Lollapolooza in Chicago. The band is reportedly
writing material for a new album. Keenan also toured with A Perfect Circle last November
at soldout venues in western states, including at the iconic Fillmore in San Francisco.
This dizzying and wide-ranging schedule is all the more remarkable given that Keenan
is reportedly one of rock’s more reclusive stars.